Saga Of A Time World
by The Threat
Summary: The Tardis lands inside a ship, which has capabilities that its crew isn't aware of, but can have disasterous consequences.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: "Battlestar Galactica" is created by Glen A. Larson. "Doctor Who" is owned by BBC. This story's narrator is mine.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Wake up!" I heard a voice call to me.<p>

I rubbed my eyes as I tried getting up: "Doc, I only just got here."

I heard a chuckle: "You've been asleep for hours."

Hearing that, it shook me awake: "What?"

I looked at my watch, and came to the conclusion he was right.

"We just materialized." the Doctor said, "You may be interested in seeing this."

He left the room, long before I even took the time to get out of bed.

It was funny, I returned to the room where I have my first memory of being inside the Tardis, thought I'd rest for a few minutes, only to wake up and hear I've slept for hours. Once I had gathered myself a little, I could follow the Doctor, back to the control room.

"Here's irony." I started, "I'm in a time machine, yet I seem to have no sense of time."

"Neither do I, apparently." the Doctor replied, having this worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Either I misread my instruments earlier..." the Doctor explained, "... or the Tardis traveled to another time when I wasn't looking. Either way, we're not in the same time we were when I woke you up."

"Does the Tardis have a mind of its own?" I asked.

"Yes, it does seem that way sometimes." the Doctor replied, casually.

"Now you're telling me." I began wondering if I did right in joining the Doctor in his journeys.

"But even if it took off while I was away..." the Doctor explained, while he pressed a few buttons, "... I'd notice a change in my console's settings.

Upon saying that, he looked at a screen. I followed his example. What I saw looked like a storage closet, which held what looked like spacesuits.

"Curious." the Doctor said, "But that's the exact same room I landed in. Looks like we moved through time, but not space."

There was only one conclusion I could draw: "Did we land inside another time machine?"

"Could be." the Doctor said, "But we won't know for sure by staying here."

Without further ado, the Doctor already made to leave. I'll admit to being afraid of leaving, especially since the Doctor made it seem like there was a huge mystery which he didn't completely understand yet. But if I didn't let fear stop me from joining him on this trip, why should it now? I tried to gather up however few courage I still had left, and followed the Doctor.


	2. Chapter 2

Once outside the Tardis, I got a better look of the storage room we materialized in. Other than spacesuits, there were what appeared to be military uniforms. They had no name-tags or anything, so I gathered they didn't belong to anyone in particular.

"Something on your mind?" the Doctor asked me.

As an answer, I picked up one of the jackets and put it on.

"Ah, trying to blend in." the Doctor deduced, "Clever."

"Well..." I replied, "I thought at least one of us shouldn't look like a walking anach..."

I stopped talking. I didn't know what was happening, but somehow I felt like I was drowning, even though there was no water nearby.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked, clearly concerned, then he smacked his forehead, "Blimey, I forgot to check the air."

Even if I could say anything at that moment, what do you say to someone who forgot to see if the atmosphere is remotely breathable?

The Doctor helped me back inside the Tardis, where breathing became much easier. As soon as I had regained my breath, the Doctor explained what happened: "I should have seen this before. The atmosphere is breathable, but it's too dense for your body to handle."

"Now you're telling me." I wasn't sure whether to complain, or be relieved, so when I said this, it sounded like I had no real feelings about the situation.

"Hang on." the Doctor said, after which he rummaged through his pockets.

After a while, he found what he was looking for, and gave it to me. It looked like a sort of small plastic cup, with a plastic tube attached to it, which split itself into two more tubes.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's technology that will be invented a thousand years in your future." the Doctor explained, "It's developed to help you breath under water."

That would explain its form, I thought to myself. Those two tubes I described would have to go in my nose, and that plastic cup would go in my mouth, close enough to my throat, but I still didn't quite understand something: "How will this help?"

"You know that water has oxygen? And that the air you breath has hydrogen as well?" the Doctor asked, to which I nodded, "This device is supposed to filter whatever the user is breathing, so he'd breath only that which he needs."

"So you're saying that with this thing on, I should be able to breath normally?" I asked.

"Yes." the Doctor smiled, "However, it won't help you against the air pressure, so the moment you feel tired, you better return here."

It sounded risky, but if I didn't take risks, I wouldn't get to see anything either. I put the cup in my mouth, stuck the tubes in my nose.

We finally managed to leave the Tardis and that room without any problem. Still, even when out of the room, there was still just the one question: "So, where to, Doc?"

"The bridge, I'd reckon." the Doctor answered.

"And which way is that?" I wondered.

"I don't know, we only just got here." he sounded more amused than annoyed, "Though, since you're pretending to be one of its crew, I'd say it should be easy for you to find out."

He was referring to the jacket that I was wearing. I looked at it myself, and decided he was right. As I looked, I noticed a word that was sewn in one of its shoulder pads.

"Galactica?" I read out loud.

"Must be the name of this ship." the Doctor said.

"Well, at least we know that much." I said, as I started to make my leave.

Along our way, we came across quite a few people. Most of them were too busy to either notice us, or even to listen whenever I tried to ask them something.

"Are you lost?" I turned at the sound of that voice.

"Yes, we are." the Doctor answered.

The man smiled: "Happened to me the first time I got here."

"We're looking for the bridge." I said.

"The bridge?" the man seemed genuinely surprised, "Why would a cadet need to be at the bridge?"

Given that I was wearing their jacket, without any stars or stripes that would indicate a rank, and since he didn't know me, I understood why he thought I was a cadet. Unfortunately, that didn't help me to come up with an answer.

"The commander summoned him." the Doctor answered, pointing to that breathing machine I was using, "You see, he has this condition that might make working here a little difficult..."

"Say no more." the man understood, "Even sick, you want to do your part on fighting the Cylons."

In order to pretend to know what he was talking about, I had to force myself not to raise an eyebrow at the sound of the word "cylon". Fortunately, the Doctor was frivolous enough to help: "The Cylons? Of course, anything to help."

The man then explained the way to the bridge, upon which I thanked him: "Thanks, er..."

"Apollo." the man said, "Captain."

With this we walked away.

"This is interesting." the Doctor whispered.

"Why?" I asked, "What's a Cylon?"

"A reptilian race..." the Doctor explained, "... who built a race of robots. Those robots eventually end up destroying them, claiming the Cylon name as their own."

I scoffed: "And I thought this guy John, who I met in California, was paranoid about his visions of the future. Looks like his vision came true here."

"What's curious about these Cylons, however..." the Doctor continued, "... is that they've been seen many times throughout the universe's history. Whether it be many years after the last ship was destroyed, or even many millenia before their reptilian fathers evolved."

I agreed with the Doctor, that was curious: "Think they developed time-traveling technologies?"

"Why do you think they would built a time machine?" the Doctor asked, "As machines, they think logically."

"So?" I still didn't see the problem.

"They're programmed to conquer, not to explore." the Doctor explained, "And even if they decided to use a time machine to conquer, they'd soon enough realize they'd create a time paradox that their brains are unable to handle."

In my mind I was trying to make sense of what he was saying. One well known time-travel paradox is that if you travel back in time to prevent something from happening, you're basically taking away the reason why you traveled in the first place, so you don't travel, don't change anything,... it's confusing to even think about, so I gather that a robot would short-circuit at the the mere idea.

"I see, I think." I replied, just as I realized something else, "Wait: so we're inside a ship that travels through time, by the sounds of it these people are at war with the Cylons, the Cylons are spotted throughout time..."

The Doctor nodded: "We better get to the bridge as soon a..."

He didn't finish his sentence, as he had to stop me from falling down.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked.

I looked at my watch: "Two hours? We've been walking for that long?"

"I better get you back to the Tardis now." the Doctor said.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor tried to help me get back to the Tardis, but since we had been searching for the bridge for two hours, it would possibly take another two hours for me to get back. So as we were going, my body tired out too much too soon, so it didn't take long before I couldn't take another step.

"Doc..." I panted, "... it's... getting harder."

The Doctor helped me sit down: "Time was, I had a remote control that helped me bring the Tardis to me instead. Wonder where I left it."

"You seem to forget about a lot of things." I noticed.

The Doctor ignored that remark: "If I could send an S.O.S. to my Tardis, it may come to me instead. But I don't have a transmitter with me."

"A transmitter?" I searched my pockets for my cell-phone, "Would this do?"

"Perfect!" the Doctor took my phone in his hands, upon which he took out... what I could only describe as a metallic stick, which had something star-shaped on its top, and made some kind of whirring sound. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's his version of a wand.

"What's that?" I asked.

He didn't answer me. Instead, he continued doing... whatever it was he was doing, dialed something, then gave it back to me.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." the Doctor replied, "That's the most peculiar mobile I've ever seen. Where did you get that?"

He wouldn't believe me if I told him, so I didn't know what to answer. Luckily, that was when the Tardis made his usual sound, indicating his arrival. That is, I heard it arriving, but I didn't see it materialize.

"Come along." the Doctor said, as he dragged me through the nearest door.

Through that door, was another store room, and inside I could see the Tardis. As fast as possible, we got in, and suddenly I had less trouble standing. I breathed relieved, suddenly realizing I was still wearing that breather the Doctor gave me. I started taking it off, while the Doctor pushed a few buttons on the controls console.

"What are you doing?" I asked, once the breather was off.

"Since you can't come along, I'll make sure you can still see the ship." the Doctor answered, "There, that should do it."

The screen lit up, showing the store room.

"That should do... what?" I asked.

"You'll be able to see what's happening to me as I'm going through the ship." the Doctor explained.

This, I wasn't sure I understood: "How?"

"You'll see." was all he would say, "Can I borrow your mobile?"

"Why?" I wondered.

"So we can keep in contact." he said, while pointing to a phone that was built into his console.

That, I did understand, so I gave him my cell-phone. And after that, he left.

I watched the screen. I wasn't sure of what I saw then. So far, every time I looked at the screen, I saw what was immediately outside the Tardis, so I always assumed there was some kind of camera on top of the Tardis that was filming everything. But this time, it seemed like that camera was following the Doctor around, but of all the people that the Doctor came across, nobody seemed to notice a camera. As I sank my head trying to figure this out, I noticed another screen on the console. It had a few series of numbers, which I recognized as something that indicated the time we were in. It was strange that it was set on time as I understand it, i.e. the day of which month, the hour, B.C. or A.D., but I suppose since the Tardis was supposed to translate things for me, it too had adjusted itself into terms I would understand. Either that, or the Doctor made that adjustment. But if he did, why would he? While I was thinking that through, I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey!" the voice said, "You found the bridge?"

I looked back at the screen, and saw that the Doctor met Apollo.

"Er... no, my friend started to have trouble, so I had to send him to the sick-bay first." the Doctor replied.

"That's a shame." Apollo said, "Maybe I should go by later, just to..."

"No, that won't be necessary." the Doctor interrupted him.

"Why not?" Apollo didn't understand, "If he hears a superior officer wishing him well, it would encourage him to go on."

Whether or not the Doctor had a reply at the ready, I didn't know, because then I heard the console make a blip sound. I looked at that time-indicating screen again, and I suddenly understood why the Doctor would make that adjustment I mentioned earlier. I picked up the phone and dialed my cell-phone number. On the screen, I saw the Doctor searching his pockets for my cell-phone, and Apollo not understanding what that sound was my phone was making. Once the Doctor had my phone in his hands, Apollo wasn't any wiser.

"What's that?" he asked.

The Doctor ignored him as he answered me: "Yes? What's the matter?"

"Remember when we first arrived here?" I asked, "How your instruments indicated a different time than the first time you looked?"

"Yes?" the Doctor replied.

"It changed again." I said.

"Thank you." the Doctor replied, hung up, then turned away from Apollo.

"Wait! What is this?" Apollo tried to stop him.

"I'm sorry, captain." the Doctor said, "But I have to see your bridge now."

Clearly, this didn't sound right to Apollo, so he shouted: "Stop him!"

Other soldiers stepped before the Doctor, blocking his way.

"Ah!" the Doctor tried to stay frivolous, "Trust is not an easy thing to come by these days, is it?"

"Search him!" Apollo commanded.

The two soldiers did exactly that. Other than my cell-phone, they found that metallic wand-thing, a yo-yo (which in their minds may well be made to strangle people), a bag of candy, and a few items I couldn't identify.

"That friend of yours is not really at sick-bay, is he?" Apollo sounded more threatening than sympathetic this time."

"Well, no." the Doctor said, smiling, almost as if he was in denial about his predicament.

I thought of calling them, but I realized they wouldn't believe a word I was saying. Still, I had to do something, so I called them anyway. My phone rang. The two soldiers wondered what they were hearing, but only Apollo knew it. He picked up my phone, opened it, like he saw the Doctor do before, but didn't know what to do next.

"How does this work?" he asked.

"Just press the green button." the Doctor answered.

Apollo did exactly that. Unsure of what to do next, he just held the phone close to his mouth and spoke: "Who is this?"

"That sick friend you saw earlier." I replied, which helped Apollo realize which end of the phone he should hold to his ear and which end to his mouth.

"Where are you?" he demanded me.

"That's not important right now..." I said, but Apollo interrupted me.

"Whatever you're planning to do to our ship, it won't work." he said.

So he thought the Doctor and I were terrorists. I didn't know what to do convince him otherwise, but at the time it seemed like something I could use to my advantage.

"Suppose for a moment that I am planning to do something..." I said, "... that's all the more reason to let him go."

The expression on his face was exactly the reaction I hoped he'd give: "What did you do?"

"Just let him go!" I shouted.

If I was a terrorist, as he accused me of being, he had to put the safety of the people aboard the ship first. He thought long and hard enough, then decided: "Escort him to the bridge."

"Thank you." the Doctor replied, as he started to pick up everything that was taken out of his pockets.

"Leave it!" Apollo told him, then commanded one of the two soldiers: "You pick it up, and don't let him touch it."

The soldier nodded and did as he was told.


	4. Chapter 4

After a long walk (or at least it felt long, given the situation), the Doctor finally arrived at the bridge. Being... the Doctor, he couldn't hide any enthusiasm.

"So this is what keeps this ship afloat!" he sounded too frivolous, "Is that..."

He pointed to a piece of machinery, clearly about to touch it, but the two soldiers stopped him.

"Who is this guy?" one of the people in the room asked.

Apollo shrugged in response: "I've been trying to find that out myself, Starbuck."

"Really?" the Doctor seemed surprised that time, "Then why didn't you ever ask? I'm the Doctor."

"Apollo." an older man, who looked like a priest, spoke, "Care to explain?"

"Happy to, father." Apollo replied to the older man.

"Father?" the Doctor then turned to the older man, "May I say you have a very vigilant son. You must be very proud."

That man from earlier, who Apollo referred to as Starbuck, stepped in between: "Show some fracking respect for the Commander!"

I'm not sure why, but hearing Starbuck say "fracking" made me realize that the Doctor kept beating around the bush there. So I decided to make a call. Apollo answered my phone, though reluctantly.

"What is that?" the Commander asked.

"A communication device." Apollo answered, before he picked up, "What?"

"Give me the Doctor." I told him.

Just as reluctantly as before, Apollo did as he was told and handed my phone to the Doctor: "It's for you."

"Why thank you." the Doctor said, as he took the phone, "Hello. How are you? Better than last time I saw you?"

"Doc." I started, "There was a reason you had to be at the bridge. So now that you are, will you please cut to the chase?"

"I'd love to, but these people aren't letting me look at their instruments." the Doctor replied.

"I noticed." I said.

"But looking at the machinery alone, I think I already know what the problem is." the Doctor added.

"Really?" I realized how fast that was, just as Starbuck took the phone out of the Doctor's hand.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know.

Assuming I had an answer at the ready, the Doctor gave one before I could: "We're just travelers."

"Travelers?" Apollo sounded particularly surprised.

"Yes." the Doctor said, "And my instruments indicated that your ship is jumping from one point in time into the next."

"What is he talking about?" Starbuck asked.

"I don't know, I don't even remember when he stopped making sense." Apollo answered.

"Wait." the Commander said, "Wait just a centon. Give him a chance to explain."

I was about to ask what a centon is, when I realized I was still on the phone.

"Thank you, Commander..." the Doctor indicated he didn't know the Commander's name.

"Adama." the Commander said.

"Er... Starbuck." I spoke in the phone.

Starbuck was surprised: "How do you know my name?"

"Eavesdropping, aren't you?!" the Doctor said, looking directly into the camera.

Doing this, it made the others look in the same direction, apparently not noticing a camera.

"Who are you talking to?" Apollo asked.

"Let's see if you can understand this, before I tell you that." the Doctor suggested.

"Anyway..." I spoke to Starbuck again, "... close this phone and give it back to the Doctor."

It took a while for Starbuck first to realize what I was talking about when I said "phone", another few seconds for him to figure out how to close it, before finally returning it to the Doctor.

"Thank you." the Doctor pocketed my phone, "Now, clearly your people have mastered traveling faster than light, I presume."

The others merely looked at each other, surprised he'd state something so obvious.

"As some of you may know, if you travel at the speed of light..." the Doctor explained, "... you might arrive at your destination before you even left, or even arrive long after you left. So clearly traveling at light speed is unreliable, so some people would use hyperspace to bypass that. But you people kept experimenting with light-speed travel, and even try to travel faster than that. Quite crudely, I would think."

"What is he saying?" Starbuck wondered.

"What he's saying..." the Doctor said, speaking of himself in third person, possibly because he didn't like it when Starbuck spoke as if he weren't there, "... is that the longer you travel with this crude technique, the more you'll be jumping through time."

"That can't be right." Apollo said, "We've been using this for years to travel from one planet to the other. We never traveled through time."

"Only because the distance between your planets are relatively short." the Doctor explained, "But if you're traveling longer distances..."

"So..." Starbuck sounded genuinely sad, "... so all this time we've been searching for..."

Starbuck couldn't finish his sentence, but Apollo knew what to say: "Don't worry, it's probably not even true."

"Isn't it?" the Doctor asked, "Where's your navigator computer?"

Adama, who looked concerned, turned around: "Athena?"

Behind him, a young woman got out of her seat, which was at a computer: "Yes, father?"

"Ah!" the Doctor seemed over-joyed, "Running the Galactica is a family business then, eh?"

"Would you let this... Doctor look at our navigation systems?" Adama asked her.

"Father, you can't be serious." Apollo protested.

"Our goal is to find Earth." Adama said, "If there's a problem, I'd want to know it."

Find Earth? Hearing him say that made me realize something else. These people look human, so I therefor assumed they were related to my planet. But are they? Even the Doctor kept talking about his people and my people, which implied that he's not as human as he looks. It made me wonder who these people are. I thought of calling the Doctor to ask, but then I saw he had gotten behind a computer, and started doing... whatever it was that he had to do.


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor searched, typed, calculated... honestly it was hard to follow what he was doing exactly, unless you were familiar with either the equipment or the science behind what he was doing. Eventually he was done.

"Look at this." the Doctor pointed to the screen, so everyone would look, "This is what the star-maps looked like when you left."

"Yes?" Adama said.

"And this is what it looks like now." the Doctor said, upon which he pressed another button and showed a different map.

I won't pretend to know much, if anything, about astro-physics, but I do know there is such a thing as stellar drift. It basically means that as time goes by, the stars drift further apart. From the map, I couldn't tell if the stars have drifted further away from each other, but there was an obvious difference at how the stars were before and after. And from the looks of it, so did everyone else.

"This can't be!" Apollo said.

Adama asked: "Are you trying to tell me that the longer we search for Earth..."

"You'll end up in either Earth's distant past of future?" the Doctor finished his sentence, "Indeed."

"But that's impossible!" Starbuck exclaimed, "What about the Cylons?"

"He's right." Athena agreed, "If we kept... jumping, as you call it, how come do we keep meeting the Cylons?"

"Do they use the same techniques of traveling through space?" the Doctor asked.

He waited for them to answer, but nobody said anything.

"There's only one man who knows." Adama said, though there was a hint of reluctance.

"Good!" the Doctor seemed happy, "Who is it?"

"Father, no!" Apollo said, "We don't even know if he should be trusted. Why should we trust him with Baltar?"

Whoever this Baltar is, he was clearly well-known among them, but untrustworthy. Unfortunately, for the Doctor to know for sure if his theory is correct, it looked like he needs to talk to him.

"Baltar, eh?" the Doctor said, "Take me to him."

"Absolutely not!" Starbuck said.

"We may not have a choice." Adama said.

"How do we even know what he just showed us is even real?" Starbuck asked, "How do know if it's not just some picture he made with the computer?"

As though in response, I heard the Tardis' console blip again. And almost in sync with that, the map on the navigation screen changed. The Doctor took my phone out and called the Tardis' phone, which I picked up. As I picked up, the Doctor turned my phone's speaker on.

"Did the time on my instruments change again?" he asked me.

"Yes." I answered, "We're in the past now."

"Thank you." the Doctor said, upon which he shut the phone.

Adama understood what he had to do: "Stop the fleet! Get Baltar to my office! And somebody wake up Colonel Tigh!"

"I'm glad you see reason." the Doctor complimented him.

The fleet? This was the first time I heard there was more than one ship.

Adama left the bridge, and the Doctor followed him. Apollo and Starbuck followed as well. And although the camera wasn't pointed at them, I could hear them talk.

"It's not bad enough that we have to trust this guy. Now we have to trust Baltar again." Starbuck whined.

"Knowing Baltar, his survival depends on our survival now." Apollo said, "And besides, he's helped before."

"But what do we know about this Doctor?" Starbuck asked, "And what about that person he keeps in contact? How do we know it's not a ruse to help him escape?"

The subsequent silence implied that Apollo was considering this.

"We better get Boomer and Sheba here too." Apollo said.

"I'm on it." Starbuck said.


	6. Chapter 6

Needing some answers, I called the Doctor. He answered my phone: "Oh, hello? You want to know how I knew how they do travel just by looking at their bridge?"

"Actually, I got a pretty good idea about that." I replied.

And that wasn't a lie. Recognizing the ship's computers and whatnot for what they can do, is a bit like recognizing a car's engine from that of a motorcycle. There is a clear difference, or at least to experts there is. From what I can gather, the Doctor is quite the expert on a lot of things, so that was one thing I wouldn't question.

"I just want to know how it's possible you've got a camera following you, yet nobody seems to notice." I told him.

"That's because there is no camera." the Doctor answered.

The silence that fell was a clear indication to the Doctor that I didn't understand, so he explained: "You know how light works?"

"I've got a... rudimentary understanding of it." I answered, "It er... reflects everywhere, our eyes catch the reflected light and our brains interpret it."

The Doctor chuckled: "What do you mean you have a rudimentary understanding?"

"Anyway, how does that help?" I reminded him.

"Ah!" the Doctor got back on topic, "The Tardis can do that too, catch reflected light and translate that into images on that screen."

That made sense, safe for one bit: "Er... doesn't that mean the Tardis is constantly following you?"

The Doctor grinned this time: "No, I just set to work as an interceptor. It homes in on my location, catches some of the reflected light around me and sends it to you."

"Like how a hacker intercepts e-mails?" I asked.

"Please." the Doctor implored, "Don't compare something so simple as hacking to something so complicated as..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get the idea." I interrupted.

"Anything else?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes." I said, "Who exactly are these people?"

"Why don't you ask them yourself." that didn't sound like a question, and before I could protest, the Doctor already handed my phone to Apollo: "He wants to talk to you."

Apollo was reluctant, but he took the phone anyway, and talked: "Yes?"

I was nervous, seeing as we weren't exactly in good terms, what with me giving the impression of being a terrorist and all that: "Er... well, er..."

"The Doctor said you wanted to talk." Apollo sounded impatient, "So talk."

Though he sounded rude, he was right: "What exactly did your father mean with "finding Earth"?"

"You don't know?" Apollo was surprised.

"The Doctor and I are travelers, remember?" I reminded him.

"The Cylons destroyed our homes." Apollo answered, "All of the twelve colonies, are all gone."

"Colonies?" I could easily make my deduction there, "So you're returning to Earth?"

Apollo didn't seem to know what to make of me that time: "Where have you been the last few years? Earth is the thirteenth colony, and we're trying to find our way there."

This, I didn't understand: "Wait, I thought we evolved on Earth? What are you saying? We're originally from another planet?"

Something in my choice of words seemed to ring an alarm bell in Apollo's head: "You're from Earth?"

This was enough to get the Doctor to end our conversation, by taking the phone out of Apollo's hand and saying: "I think you two have talked enough now."

"Doc?" I managed to say, but he shut my phone already, so even if he did hear me, he wouldn't reply.

Shortly thereafter, the whole group had arrived at Adama's office, where another old man was waiting.

"Commander." he greeted him, "I've been hearing some rumors, but I'd rather hear it from you personally."

"If you're talking about me trusting a stranger to talk to Baltar, Colonel..." Adama replied, "... than you're wrong, they're not rumors."

I had only just realized this man was that Colonel Tigh Adama had mentioned before, just as he too started to express his outrage at that very idea that was described to him: "With respect, Commander..."

"I know what you're trying to say." Adama interrupted him, "Naturally, they'll be on constant guard, and until there's more clarity on the situation, the fleet won't move on."

That last bit particularly seemed to distress Tigh even more: "Commander?"

"Now, now..." the Doctor tried to make light of the situation, "Aren't we being a little too tense here? There's no need to worry yet."

"Yet?" Tigh hadn't met the Doctor before, and already he had lost patience with him.

This was the moment that a small group of guards arrived, accompanying a man in some green suit with his hands cuffed.

"Ah!" the Doctor turned to that man, "Baltar, I presume?"

The man took one look at the Doctor: "And you are?"

"A troublemaker." Tigh said, "You two would make best friends."

"So, Baltar..." the Doctor started, "Do these Cylons use the same techniques for lightspeed travel as the Galactica does?"

Baltar raised an eyebrow: "Yes. Why?"

"Well then, there's your answer." the Doctor turned back to Adama.

"So they've been jumping through time as well?" Apollo couldn't believe it.

"Took you long enough to figure that out." Baltar grinned.

This enraged Tigh even more: "You knew about this? And you never told us?"

"Well, this will be an interesting talk we'll have." the Doctor said.


	7. Chapter 7

After some time, Adama, Baltar and the Doctor finally managed to get themselves sitting at one table, talking about the problem at hand. But before anyone started to talk, Adama turned to his son.

"Wait outside." he said.

"Father?" Apollo didn't comprehend this.

"Nobody likes talking with guns in the room." the Doctor said, pointing to the gun that Apollo had on his belt.

Apollo sighed, as he reluctantly left the room: "I got Starbuck to fetch Sheba and Boomer, so we'll all be outsi..."

"Thank you, Apollo." Adama interrupted.

As soon as Apollo was out, and as soon as the door shut, Adama asked Baltar: "So, Baltar, what do you know and why didn't you tell us before?"

Baltar merely snickered: "Have you got the time to hear what I know and I don't?"

"Let's just talk about our main problem." the Doctor stopped another argument before it started, "These Cylons, they use the same faster-than-light travel, so they travel through time also."

"Yes." Baltar replied, "It's also how they've been able to track you. They search for residual energy that your ships leave behind, and use that to determine which way into time you went, so they could follow."

"But if they can travel through time, doesn't that mean they can go back to before we got spaceships, or any means to defend ourselves?"

Again, Baltar snickered: "Every time that thought is introduced to just one of them, their circuits explode. I know, because I suggested it once."

"Of course." the Doctor said, "To them, it wouldn't make logical sense if one were to time-travel to change history."

"So if they wouldn't use their technology against you, there was no need for you to know they can do that." Baltar answered the last question as well.

This infuriated Adama: "You know very well what we're trying to do! We're trying to find Earth, but if we keep time-traveling, we'd find Earth before it ever got the technology, or find it when all its people are long gone."

"But what could you do about it if you did know?" Baltar questioned, "It took humanity centuries to develop faster-than-light travel. And with the Cylons hot on our tails, it leaves you even less time to develop an alternative."

"If the Cylons can just follow us, it means they know a way to predict where and when they'll end up." Adama deduced, "If they can do it, so can we."

"A smart deduction." the Doctor complimented him, "But I'm afraid you can't do that."

"There." Baltar seemed pleased, "He agrees."

"But it's not what you think." the Doctor corrected him.

This time, Baltar too seemed worried.

"Imagine yourself..." the Doctor said, "... pacing about in your room. If you keep doing that long enough, eventually you'll wear down the floor, and it won't be as robust as it once was."

"And you're telling us this, because...?" Baltar became impatient.

"Because that's what you and the Cylons are doing." the Doctor explained, "You're pacing from one point in time to the next. Eventually, you'll wear out the very fabric of space and time and... well, I think you can imagine what that would mean."

Adama sounded frightened: "What are you saying? That with our travels, we've been tearing down the whole of creation?"

Even Baltar seemed disturbed at that thought: "What can we do to stop it?"

"If you just stop faster-than-light travel, it will restore itself eventually." the Doctor explained.

"But we're not prepared for that!" Adama exclaimed, "It could take thousands of years before we find Earth! And I don't think our offspring would last that long."

"And that is assuming the Cylons wouldn't have found us by then and killed us." Baltar added.

There was a dilemma, I thought to myself. Either these people do everything to survive, and thereby destroy the universe, or they stop and risk getting themselves killed. Not a fair choice.

"What about you?" Adama asked the Doctor, "How did you even arrive here?"

"I am sorry, but I can't tell you that." the Doctor replied.

This reminded me of something else. I've been walking through the Tardis myself, and noticed just how big it is on the inside. Is it not possible for him to carry everyone aboard? I decided to call him to ask exactly that.

The Doctor heard my phone ring, so he answered: "Yes? You have a solution?"

"What about the Tardis?" I asked, as I heard Adama and Baltar wonder both who the Doctor is talking to, and why he talked as though I'd know what they were talking about.

"What about it?" the Doctor asked.

"Can't it carry everyone in this fleet they're talking about?" I suggested.

"It can." the Doctor replied, "However, that would mean they have to leave their ships. Leave the very things that defined them as a people, as a culture. I can't ask that of them. And even if I could, there's still the problem with the Cylons. Even if these people are saved, the Cylons would still be out there, searching for them, causing unfathomable damage to the space-time continuum."

"I thought their programs doesn't allow them to do that." I reminded him.

"Not deliberately, no." the Doctor replied.

"Oh boy..." this was when the problem seemed too big for me to even try and help cook up a solution. But then I remembered our last adventure: "Wait. Can't the Tardis take the whole fleet?"

"That would require more energy than the Tardis currently has." the Doctor said, "Or could ever hold."

That's when I remembered that last time we tried something like this, we had help. A thought then crossed my mind, but as soon as I realized the stupidity of it, I laughed it away.

"What's so funny?" the Doctor heard me laugh.

"Nothing." I answered, "Just a stupid idea I had."

"How stupid?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, as I told you, I know very little about how light works..." I explained, "... but since light is basically energy, and the Tardis takes light away so it could project on the screen, can't you rig it so it'll turn light into an energy-source?"

"Creative, I'll give you that." the Doctor said, "But light doesn't work that way."

"I was afraid you'd say that." I replied.

"However..." the Doctor spoke slowly then, "... you may have found a way to catch two birds with one stone."

"I have?" I was surprised to hear him say that, but as I was about to ask the Doctor to elaborate, he hung up.

* * *

><p>Note: that last adventure that is referenced here is in reference to another story of mine, "League of Doctors"<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor called Apollo back inside, as well as those who were standing guard outside. Besides Starbuck and Tigh, there were two others that I hadn't seen before. These must be Boomer and Sheba that Apollo mentioned before. Since Sheba sounded feminine, I guessed that the woman must be Sheba, so the big guy must be Boomer.

"I got a mission for all of you." the Doctor told them.

"Father, are you just letting him take command over us?" Apollo asked him.

"Never thought I'd see the day." Baltar snickered, "That the great Adama loses control."

"Nice rebound from what you just found out." Adama said.

"Please, let's not argue just yet." the Doctor said, "I'm going to need your help still."

"Mine?" Baltar said, "Why?"

"I have a way to transport your whole fleet to Earth." the Doctor said.

"You do?" Boomer questioned.

"What is he talking about?" Starbuck asked.

"But..." the Doctor ignored their questioning, "... it would require us to destroy all of the Cylons all at once."

Everyone, all at once, shouted: "What!"

"How are you planning on doing that?" the woman, Sheba, asked.

"What do you think we've been trying to do for so many years?" Tigh asked.

"From what I can tell, you've been running mostly." the Doctor said, quite nonchalantly.

Tigh was about to burst out in rage, but the Doctor had something else to say: "Plus you've had the very solution among you for so many years and you never used it."

He turned to look at Baltar, which spooked even him.

"Me?" Baltar questioned.

"You know so much about these Cylons, yet you were never asked for more details about them?"

"We did ask him." Starbuck said, "He told us how their ships are built, so we could destroy them from the inside."

"Ah?" the Doctor sounded more curious, "And how does he know so much about them?"

"Because he used to side with them." Adama said, sounding somewhat angry about that.

"Normally I'd rant about how anyone could betray their own species." the Doctor said, "But who am I to talk."

Almost expecting him to hear me, I asked: "What does that mean?"

Since the Doctor couldn't hear me, he spoke as though I didn't say anything at all: "Anyway, this time that could turn to our advantage."

"How?" Apollo asked.

"All we have to do is tell the Cylons we've found Earth, give them this location, lure their whole armada here, fight them, and destroy their ships."

"How do you plan to do that?" Tigh wondered, "Destroy all their ships at once?"

"And how will that help us?" Boomer questioned.

"And where do I fit in?" Baltar asked.

The Doctor answered their questions, one by one: "Chain reaction. That's between me and my friend. And you're the one to deliver the message."

I guessed that by "my friend", the Doctor meant me. Which also still didn't answer my own question as how I gave him that idea. But their own conversation didn't give me too much time to think it over.

"You and your friend?" Apollo questioned.

"A chain reaction..." Sheba seemed to think about it, "You mean by attacking one ship we can destroy them all?"

"We'll need more information on those Cylon basestars than we already have." Boomer suggested.

"I'm sure Baltar will be more than happy to provide it." Adama said.

"Forget it!" Baltar said, "I won't be part of this!"

"Why not?" Apollo didn't understand this, "Don't you want us to find Earth?"

"Maybe that's why." Starbuck said, "Once we find Earth, we'll be able to carry out his sentence."

"That has nothing to do with it." Baltar said, "You think I can give them our current location. Why?"

"Well, if you've lived with them for some time, as you probably have, it means they know you." the Doctor said.

"But they don't trust me!" Baltar said, "Especially now that I helped destroying some of their ships before."

"So what you're saying is that you need more... credibility?" Apollo suggested.

"You can leave that to me." Boomer grinned.

The Doctor saw that look on Boomer's face, which he obviously didn't like. He shrugged, though there was a clear hint of reluctance: "Good. You lot do what you have to, while I go meet back with my friend."


	9. Chapter 9

The Doctor entered the Tardis, where I was indeed waiting for him.

"So, doc..." I started, "What's this great plan of yours?"

"Actually it's your plan." the Doctor said.

I rolled my eyes: "If it were, I wouldn't need to ask you."

The Doctor laughed: "Well then, didn't you ask me about using light as an energy source?"

"I did, and you told me it wouldn't work." I replied.

"Indeed not." the Doctor confirmed.

This still left me nowhere: "So what's the plan?"

"Well, instead of absorbing light, I could set the Tardis to absorb other things." the Doctor explained.

"Such as?" I wondered.

"Remember what I said? That I would need to stop the entire Cylon fleet at once?" the Doctor asked of me, upon which I nodded so he could continue, "If their whole fleet blew up, it will release a lot of energy. If we could harness that energy, we could use it to transport all of Galactica's fleet.

"How?" I still didn't know all the details.

"Allow me to demonstrate." he said, as he reached for his console. Again, he pressed a few buttons, pulled a few levers, and then I heard the Tardis make its usual noise. After a few seconds, it stopped, which I would take to mean that the Tardis moved to... wherever the Doctor wanted it to move.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Look for yourself." the Doctor suggested, as he gestured towards the door.

I wasn't sure of his intentions, but I did as he asked. I opened the door... only to immediately close it again. In the split second I looked through the opening, I saw the blackness of the universe, with all the white dots that I would recognize as stars. It could have been the case I just looked at the night sky, but then I'm sure I would have recognized trees, buildings, or anything that would imply I'm on a planet first, which wasn't the case.

The Doctor laughed: "What are you so afraid of?"

"We're in outer space." I said.

"Yes?" the Doctor replied, questioningly.

"Well... isn't there such a thing as the vacuum of space?" I asked.

"Yes." the Doctor answered, "But that didn't happen now, did it? If not, then we wouldn't be talking now."

Thinking about it, he was right. If there was a vacuum, I would be dead. Or was I that quick to shut the door? I opened it again, saw the vastness of space, yet nothing happened.

"Do you understand how this is happening?" the Doctor asked.

I shook my head, so he explained: "It's because there's a force field around the Tardis. It keeps all the air in, and leaves the vacuum out. Also..."

The Doctor took a bag of candy out of his pocket. It was the same bag that was confiscated from him earlier, so the fact that he got it again meant that the Galactica people trust him. At least a little more than before. He took one green jelly bear out of the bag and stuck its head just outside that force field he mentioned. Almost immediately, its head exploded.

"Outside it, there's no air-pressure keeping it together." the Doctor explained.

"I figured as much." I replied.

"Now watch." the Doctor said, as he returned to the console, pressed a few more buttons, then turned back to me, "Now, stick your hand out."

I thought about it for a moment. So he asked me to do something, I trusted him then, and almost ended up dying. Of course that didn't happen, but I thought I was. Now, he demonstrated what might happen if I stick my hand out, and he just asked me to do exactly that. His earlier demonstration would imply I should trust him, but experience tells me I shouldn't trust people too much.

The Doctor noticed my hesitation: "Very well, I'll do it."

He walked to the door, stuck his entire arm out of the door, and... nothing happened. It didn't split apart, it didn't freeze up, nothing happened. I tried the same myself with my right hand (because I'm left-handed), and like with the Doctor, nothing happened.

"Did you expand the field or something?" I asked.

"Very good." the Doctor replied, "And that is how we'll help the fleet. I will expand the field, so all those ships will fit inside it, and together, we'll travel to back to their time, and to Earth."

I was about to ask if the Tardis can do that, but then I remembered he told me he needed to harness the energy that exploding ships would release, so I decided not to ask.

"Interesting." I said, "But something still bugs me."

"Yes?" the Doctor listened.

"If these people have been fighting the Cylons for years and still haven't won, how do you expect them to win this?" I asked.

"Because they never fought the whole fleet before." the Doctor explained, "They can destroy, say, a hundred ships in one battle, but then they would still have a thousand more where those hundred came from. However, if they could lure the whole fleet to one place, using my chain reaction idea, it should work."

"Should?" I questioned.

"There's always a chance of failure." the Doctor said, "But if you knew in advance if something would work, then where's all the fun?"

"You and I have a different idea of what fun is." I said.

"And a good thing too." the Doctor said, as he closed the door of his Tardis and returned to his console, "Now, it's best if we put our plan into action."

He pressed the buttons and pulled the levers again, causing the Tardis to make his usual sound, and having us return to the Galactica.


	10. Chapter 10

As before, the Doctor left the Tardis, and its... camera, for a lack of better terminology, followed him. He made it to the ship's bridge, where he was to discuss the plan with Adama.

"Doctor? Where were you the whole time?" he asked.

For a moment, I wondered what Adama meant with "the whole time", as we were gone for only five minutes.

"Making a few adjustments to my ship." the Doctor replied, "Have you made your own strategy?"

"Yes." Adama answered.

This was when it hit me. The Tardis is a time machine, so the Doctor simply traveled to a point in the future when the Galactica crew had devised their plan to attack the Cylons.

"What we'll do is give the Cylons the coordinates to a nearby planet. Once there, we'll have some of our pilots fly their Vipers into the Cylon basestars."

"Hang on, won't they be detected?" the Doctor asked.

"Not if we their Vipers were made of alloys that can't be detected by Cylon radars." Adama replied.

"Do you have such alloys?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes." Adama sighed, "Unfortunately, only enough for four."

"That shouldn't be a problem." the Doctor said, "To further help you with your stealth actions, I'll have my ship fly into the middle of their armada."

"That's suicide!" Adama exclaimed.

"Trust me, it won't be." the Doctor said, "What's better is that I'll be distracting them so much, they won't even notice any intruders on their ships. And from my position, I can determine where you can do most damage."

"Commander!" Tigh suddenly entered, "Boomer has let me know that... Baltar is ready."

"Then all we need to do is get him aboard a Cylon basestar." Adama said.

"You can leave that to me." the Doctor said.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Tigh asked.

"Just let me take him away." the Doctor said, "It's what you want anyway."

Tigh seemed reluctant, but from what both the Doctor and I could ascertain, nobody aboard the Galactica really like Baltar, so they're more than happy to let him go.

After some time, both the Doctor and Baltar entered the Tardis. Baltar's face looked red and blue. Red from his own blood and blue for the bruises. So this was what Boomer meant with making him ready to meet the Cylons. Needless to say that a sense of awe seemed to come over Baltar as he entered the Tardis. It almost made him forget how battered and bruised he was.

"Wha... what is this?" he wondered.

"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space." I replied, getting Baltar to look at me, "The Doc's words, not mine."

Suddenly, Baltar seemed to revert back to his usual ominous self: "So you're that mysterious friend I keep hearing so much about."

"Yes, he is." the Doctor spoke, "You can thank him for this plan."

"Oh can I?" Baltar said, "So he's the one whom I thank for what they did to me on the Galactica and what the Cylons will do to me?"

He was blaming me, even though all I did was suggest to use light as an energy source. Everything else was either the Doctor's idea, or that of the Galactica crew.

"Look... Baltar..." I started.

"Don't be too shy." he said, seemingly trying to sound friendly, "It's not that I'm a better person myself."

"So..." the Doctor said, "Where to?"

"Where to?" Baltar didn't understand.

"If I'm to drop you off at the Cylon headquarters, I have to know where to go." the Doctor explained.

"How do you know I wouldn't give you false coordinates?" Baltar questioned.

"Because if the universe ends, your life ends." the Doctor said.

Baltar rolled his eyes, as if he didn't already know this. Though he was still reluctant, he knew he had few choices, so he gave the Doctor the coordinates.


	11. Chapter 11

Following Baltar's coordinates, the Tardis landed there where Baltar said they would. Doing so, it caused the Tardis to make his usual sound. One to which I had grown accustomed to, but Baltar hadn't.

"Is it supposed to do that?" he asked.

The Doctor didn't answer, so I did instead: "Apparently."

"And you trust this Doctor?" Baltar questioned, "Or his machines?"

In truth, I didn't know. Sure, the Doctor was trying to save the universe, but then even the most evil characters I know from Earth would do the same thing. They may be evil, but not insane enough to destroy a universe while they're still part of it themselves. As for the Doctor, he's been too secretive, didn't even want me to say anything to these people. What was it exactly that he was doing? So in truth, I didn't trust him that much. But that was something I didn't want to say out loud.

"I trust that he knows what he's doing." I gave a compromising answer.

Baltar grinned, as though he realized what I really thought. If the Doctor noticed, he didn't show it.

After some time, the Tardis stopped, so the Doctor turned to Baltar: "We're here."

"Already?" Baltar questioned.

"You can see for yourself if you don't believe me." the Doctor said.

Baltar didn't quite believe the Doctor, so of course he opened the door to see for himself. Through the door, he saw something that surprised him. I took a look myself, and saw that we were out of that storage place, and had materialized in what looked like a corridor. A rather dark one, I should add. Of course, since the Cylons were machines, they didn't need lights to light up their way. I could hear Baltar swallow loudly before he left the Tardis and shut the door behind him.

"Alright." the Doctor spoke, "Now, to see him keep his end of the bargain."

He pressed more buttons, and suddenly, I could see Baltar on the screen. The... Tardiscam, as I decided to call it, was following Baltar this time.

"Er... you know, my planet has known a time when someone had a constant eye on people." I told the Doctor, "So for you to do this to someone besides yourself..."

"Don't worry, this is only temporary." the Doctor said.

I was about to ask how long is "temporary", when Baltar had met with what looked like walking armors, with a red dot in their visors that went left to right, wearing what looked like skirts made of chains, similar to a type of armor that the knights wore back in medieval times. Were these Cylons?

"Don't shoot!" he shouted, "I must speak to the Emperor immediately!"

Neither of the Cylons said anything. They just raised their guns.

"Why, don't you remember me?" Baltar persisted, "I'm Baltar, I used to command one of your basestars! Ask Lucifer!"

The Cylons did nothing for a second. They then lowered their guns, upon which one of them spoke: "We just asked him. By his command, we will take you to his quarters."

Since they were machines, I assumed that they had internal communication systems, which they used to speak to this Lucifer Baltar mentioned. But that still left me with two questions: "Emperor? Lucifer?"

"It's possible they have kept some of the original Cylons' hierarchy." the Doctor explained, "This Lucifer must be some sort of lackey. We'll find that out soon enough, I would think."

"I hope so." I replied.

The Cylons had brought Baltar to some... thing, that wore a robe, had a head that appeared too small for its body, with a transparent lid, making all the circuitry that made up its brain visible.

"Lucifer..." Baltar seemed overjoyed to see him.

"That's Lucifer?" I questioned.

"Did you expect to see a man with horns and goat-legs?" the Doctor asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what I expected." I answered.

"Baltar." Lucifer said, "The Emperor will be pleased to see you."

I was surprised by its choice of words (as I couldn't imagine machines to be "pleased"), but before I could ask anything, it continued to speak: "He wanted to know why you've been helping the humans to destroy us now."

"I had to do something." Baltar explained, "I mean look at me! They tortured me for information! I couldn't help it!"

"A unit that would so easily leak information is not acceptable." Lucifer said.

"Yeah?" Baltar said, "Not even a 'unit' that has information about my people that you'd like to hear?"

Lucifer paused for a moment, before asking: "What sort of information?"

"They're planning on an ambush." Baltar explained, "A massive attack, they've stopped somewhere, hoping any of your ships would come there, so they can set their trap."

"He's betraying us?" I couldn't believe it.

"No." the Doctor said, "He's choosing his words very carefully. Too carefully."

"What do they hope to accomplish in doing so?" Lucifer asked.

"They think it's the best way to wipe you all out." Baltar explained, "But if you were to come to their specific locations, and not just a few of your ships, but all of it, they wouldn't stand a chance!"

Lucifer seemed to think, or rather calculate what Baltar just said: "There is some logic in what you're saying. I'll relay this to the Emperor, then we'll see about what we'll do next."


	12. Chapter 12

"So now what do we do?" I asked.

"We wait." the Doctor said.

That came as a surprise to me: "We wait?"

"Well obviously I need to make a few necessary adjustments to my Tardis, which will take a minute." the Doctor explained, "But until this Lucifer has done what he said he would, and until they'll gather in full force, there's nothing else for us to do but wait."

"This is a time machine." I thought it weird I had to remind the Doctor of that, "Can't we just jump to that exact moment ourselves?"

"If we knew when that would be, of course we could." the Doctor replied.

Once again, I had what seemed to be a great idea, only for the Doctor's logic to completely crush it. I sat down, realizing that when someone says "we wait", it usually means it could take hours before anything happens.

"Don't feel too bad." the Doctor said, "There are plenty of ways to fill the time."

"Yeah, sure." I replied, being pessimistic about that.

"Why not spend our time talking." the Doctor suggested, "There are plenty of things to talk about. Like you."

"Me, Doc?" I doubted that very much.

"How could you see my Tardis?" he asked.

That was a weird question, so with a questioning look on my face, I answered: "A blue booth, that was in a cave. Even if it had a different color that wouldn't stick out, why would there be a..."

"No, you misunderstand." the Doctor interrupted, "How could you see something that has a perception filter?"

I raised an eyebrow at that, which the Doctor understood to mean I had no idea what he was talking about, so he explained: "A perception filter sees to it that whenever an observant looks at an object, in this case my Tardis, his or her brains don't register its presence. So even if it didn't entirely blend into the environment, nobody would notice it. But you did. Why is that?"

This explained something to me. I remembered trying to hide away, as I was being chased by an angry mob. At the time, the Tardis seemed the best place to hide. Of course, at the time I wasn't aware of what it really was, nor did I even take the time to take a good look inside, as I was still too focused on my chasers. As I kept the Tardis' doors ajar, I could see my chasers run past the Tardis, as though they didn't even notice it was there. It puzzled me why they didn't see it, but with the Doctor's explanation, I realized that it wasn't unusual for them to not see the Tardis, but rather unusual for me to be able to see it. While I had an idea as to why I'm able to perceive things that others can't, I still have no idea about how it works, or why this ability was... for a lack of better terms, built into me. I wasn't sure I should entrust whatever little I knew about this to the Doctor. Then I realized something else. The Tardis, it was a time-space machine, larger on the inside than it is on the outside, with a "perception filter",... I have heard of many strange things, but this was beyond everything. Not to mention that the Doctor had said something earlier which still bugged me by then. This, I hoped, would allow me some leverage.

"What about you?" I asked, "What did you mean earlier, when you said "who am I to judge someone who'd betray their own species"?"

"I asked you first." the Doctor stated.

I snickered: "So you have. And I've asked you another question which you haven't answered yet either."

"Which is?" the Doctor needed me to refresh his memory.

"Doctor who?" I repeated my question.

For once, the Doctor didn't seem to have any clever retort. After what seemed an awkward pause, he finally gave a answer: "I'm a deserter."

"You're... a deserter?" I questioned.

"My people are at war." the Doctor explained, "And rather than to stay and fight, I fled."

So that's what he meant with betrayal. Bearing in mind that he's helping these Galactica-people fight their war against the Cylons without hesitation, I wouldn't think he's the type who would back away from wars. But thinking about it, if it were to happen on Earth, the war would have ended before it even started. So if a war like this is child's play to the Doctor, then how bad must that war be that he'd desert it?

"I got a reply from the Emperor." I heard Lucifer's voice from the screen.

"That was fast." Baltar replied.

"That's because you left him with no other alternative." Lucifer explained, "You say the humans are planning an ambush, but you failed to provide any more necessary details about what they plan to do precisely as they ambush us.

"I told you everything I know!" Baltar exclaimed, clearly in a panic, "Believe me, if I knew more, I'd have told you!"

"That, Emperor recognizes." Lucifer continued, "The only logical way to fight back, is if there are too many opponents for them to ambush. So he will do as you suggested, and send all Cylon ships at once."

"What will happen to me once they are gone?" Baltar asked.

"That is for the Emperor to decide." Lucifer replied.

It turned around and left Baltar.

"Machines work faster than humans, that is for sure." I remarked.

The Doctor said nothing. But strangely, he did nothing either. He didn't press any buttons, pulled any levers, he didn't do anything to make the Tardis move.

"Aren't we supposed to go back to the Galactica?" I wondered.

"Why should I use my Tardis..." the Doctor answered, "... while we're already on our way?"

With the Tardis inside this basestar, who was on its way to the very battlefield, there was no need for the Doctor to activate the Tardis. I should have figured this out myself.


	13. Chapter 13

As we were waiting for the Cylon fleet to gather, the Doctor had started towards the screen. There, he pressed and turned a few buttons. What he was up to, I couldn't be sure. And once he actually received anything, I still wasn't sure about what was happening. All it got was something that sounded like a whistling sound.

The Doctor turned down the volume before he could talk: "Don't worry, it's just how their signal sounds."

"Their?" I asked.

"The Cylons." the Doctor explained, "They're keeping radio contact. However, they can send information much faster than we can. Too fast for us to perceive."

I rubbed my ears: "That explains it."

The Doctor also received what appeared to be images. Likely battle plans that these Cylons have sketched.

"Doc, don't you think this is a little too easy?" I wondered, "How could you possibly intercept any of their signals?"

"Please." the Doctor said, "These Cylons are at the same level as the Galactica people, and they are far ahead of you. But still crude, compared to my people's science."

"Therefor easier to intercept?" I asked.

"Easier to eavesdrop, rather." the Doctor corrected, "If I intercepted, they won't be receiving anything on their end, which will only give us away."

"I see." I replied, "Did you find out anything useful?"

"I have, actually." the Doctor said, "I found out how many ships are in the fleet. And if this chain-reactio... wait."

This sounded serious: "What's wrong?"

"They have arrived at the coordinates Baltar gave them." the Doctor replied.

"So what's the problem?" I asked.

"It's only a quarter of the fleet." the Doctor replied, "They hope that the Galactica fleet would believe it's the whole fleet."

"Can't we warn them?" I asked.

"We can, but then the Cylons will know it's a trap." the Doctor answered, "If we tell Galactica to hold off their attack, the Cylons will know they were tipped off."

"How about sending the other Cylons the signal to come anyway?" I suggested.

The Doctor took that into consideration: "That could work, but... they'll know if the signal didn't come from one of their own ships. If we're to send that signal, we'll have to use their own equipment."

"So let's do that!" I exclaimed.

"And how do you propose we do that?" the Doctor questioned, "I can't move the Tardis now, since I have to be ready to harness the explosion."

"I could do it?" I suggested, even though I wasn't sure of that myself.

"Do what? Harness the explosion? You don't know how to operate the Tardis." the Doctor reminded me.

"No." I said, "But I could run through the ship and... you could talk me through using their machines."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor sounded genuinely worried.

"The alternative is scarier, Doc." I said, though even I thought I was lying to myself just then.

The Doctor thought about it: "You will need a sure way through first."

Outside the Tardis, there was a Cylon. With the perception filter, it somehow managed for even this machine to fail noticing the presence of a blue box. That was, until I popped out of its doors and shouted: "Hey! Over here!"

The Cylon immediately turned. It raised its gun and fired a shot at me. I ducked down and only just managed to retreat inside the Tardis, the Cylon hot on my heels. It followed me inside. There, I tried to make a call with my cell-phone, brought it close to the Cylon's head. Its electromagnetic wave caused complications to the Cylon's circuits, which fried his head.

"Strange." I realized, "I would think these things would be prepared for something like this."

"They probably never invented mobiles." the Doctor explained, "So they're unprepared for any such machines."

I said nothing. Immediately, I picked up the Cylon's gun.

"Think you're safer that way?" the Doctor asked.

"Under the circumstances, is anyone safe, Doc?" I questioned, as I put that device the Doctor gave me earlier back in my mouth.

"Alright." the Doctor said, upon which he started back to his console.

As I had only two hours to breath in this atmosphere, I had to hurry. The Doctor kept me informed about what areas to avoid, where to go, and what the plan was. Since the Cylons would get suspicious if they weren't "greeted", the Doctor suggested to let some of the pilots fight. Or rather have them fly to the Cylon basestars, but to not engage in battle, unless absolutely necessary. I suppose this was a way to avoid too many casualties too soon. While they were fighting, the Cylons inside the basestars would be too preoccupied to notice any invaders inside their ships. Be it those four pilots in their stealth ships, or me. At the same time, the pilots would try and drive those basestars apart as much as possible. In so doing, when the other ships arrived, all it would take is to detonate these first ships, which would ignite the other ships,... the chain reaction the Doctor described. Once those pilots have done their job, the others would pretend to retreat, and the plan could be executed. But all this depended on me making my way through the Cylons and to the communications center. It surprised me how well the Doctor managed to do what he did. Monitor me, the fight, and still be ready to flip the switch when the need comes. Even once I made it to the communications center... the first sight of it almost made me shiver. There were too many buttons, I wouldn't know what to do, but the Doctor was a great enough help. Unfortunately, just getting there and doing what had to be done, an hour had passed.

"Alright." I told the Doctor, once I sent the message to the rest of the fleet.

"Good, I'll guide you to Baltar now." the Doctor said.

"Baltar?" I was surprised to hear that, "Can't we use your machine to pick him up after all this is blown over?"

"This explosion will occur right after the Cylons have jumped through time." the Doctor explained, "Time traveling back to that point is too risky."

I sighed: "It's never easy with you, is it?"

I picked up my gun and ran out: "Which way to Baltar?"

Again, the Doctor guided me through the ship. Only this time, it wasn't any easier, since the other Cylons had found the bodies of the Cylons I shot. Additionally, to find Baltar and get back to the Tardis, all this before my two hours-window has run out, it seemed impossible.

"You better hurry." the Doctor told me, "You have only fifteen minutes!"

"Fifteen?" I didn't understand, "I can still breath for another fifty minutes."

"Fifteen minutes until the whole Cylon fleet arrives!" the Doctor said.

I dropped my phone at the sound of that. If I had only fifteen minutes left, and the Tardis can't travel back to pick anyone up, it sounded like there was no point. Even if I decided to choose my own life over that of Baltar, there would be no point in me going on. For a brief moment, I found the courage to try anyway. Time may be limited, but that should only encourage me to run faster. Unfortunately, by the time that realization came to me, five minutes had already passed. There was no way I could make it anywhere in time. I heard the Doctor shout things through my phone, but I decided not to answer it. I picked up the phone and closed it. It wasn't long before I saw fire rage its way through the corridor, followed immediately by the darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

"...s steady. No cuts or bruises, not even from facing the Cylons." I heard a female voice talk, "I don't understand it."

"Maybe he was lucky." another voice, which I recognized as Starbuck's.

"Very I would say so." Apollo's voice sounded, "As the Doctor made it seem he didn't make it in time."

Not only did the voices contradict what I was sure was true, the fact I could hear any voices at all was already a contradiction to the fact that I died. Didn't I? The Cylon ship exploded, I saw the explosion come to me, I saw the darkness. What just happened? I tried getting up, which was difficult.

"He's coming to." that first voice I heard said.

Slowly I opened my eyes. For a moment, all was a blur, but I recognized the Tardis' interior. I also recognized some of the people inside, but I had to wait for the blur to be gone to know for sure. Apart from that woman to whom that first voice I heard belonged to, I recognized everyone. It was weird seeing them inside the Tardis. So far, I had only seen them on a screen, so meeting them in person was almost like meeting the stars from some TV-show you've been watching.

"That was some excellent work you did." Apollo came to me, "You and the Doctor."

"Yeah, we've finally made it to Earth after all this time!" Starbuck said.

I still needed to rearrange my thoughts: "What?"

"Whatever it is you and the Doctor did..." Sheba explained, "... it worked."

"And... what exactly happened?" I asked.

"I was hoping you could tell us." I recognized the Doctor's voice, but I didn't see him.

"Doc?" I looked around, even tried to look behind the crowd.

"Oh, my apologies." Adama moved himself aside, so the Doctor could show himself.

"I lost contact with you right after I told you how much time you had." the Doctor explained, "And my Tardis was overloading once it tried to harness the energy, but it didn't explode. We shouldn't be here now, but we are. And after all this was over, I found you here."

"And Baltar just popped into our sickbay as well." Boomer said.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything?" Athena asked.

"Apollo, this sound familiar to you?" Sheba asked him, followed by a strange silence between these two, where even Starbuck participated.

Adama then addressed that new woman: "Could it be a concussion, Cassiopeia?"

"No, commander." the woman replied, "No injuries whatsoever."

"Cassiopeia?" I questioned.

"Yes?" she replied, "What's wrong?"

After hearing names like Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, Boomer, Athena, Sheba, Baltar, Tigh and now Cassiopeia, only one question came to mind: "No one called Jones?"

Only the Doctor chuckled. The name "Jones" was probably either unusual or non-existent to these people, so they funny part was lost on them.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with him, I can tell you that." the Doctor assured them.

"Good to know." Adama said, "So... we'd better be off. Now that we've arrived, we'd better get started."

They still talked as they left the Tardis. But once they were gone, the Doctor shut the door behind them, then turned to me.

"Why did you let them go?" I asked, "At least three of them seemed to know what was happening."

"Yes." the Doctor seemed to have noticed, "But asking them would have been a waste of time. If they were ever in the same situation as you before, then the odds are that they don't remember what happened to them either."

I had nothing to say to that, so I nodded and turned away. Doing so, I caught sight of one of the Tardis' console's screens. For some reason, it said the year was 1978.

"Doc, am I reading this right?"

"Yes, you are." the Doctor replied, "We tried to travel as close to Earth as possible, as close to their own time as possible. Unfortunately, we only got as close as that."

"How close did we have to be?" I asked, out of curiosity.

"About 150,000 years earlier." he answered, flatly, "But don't worry. In a way, this was supposed to happen."

"I'm... not following you." I told him.

"But all that can wait." he tried to change the subject, "Do you remember Eckels?"

"You mean that guy who's mind you read before?" I asked, "Yes. Why?"

"Because I want to do the same with you." the Doctor explained, "You may not remember what happened to you, or maybe you do have the memory and you just can't access it. Who knows. But I want to try."

I shrugged: "Do what you have to."

Slowly, the Doctor placed his hands on my face. Doing so, I noticed something peculiar. Anyone who, under whatever circumstances ever had to put their own hands on their faces, would know that if you do it just right, you can feel your own heartbeat. When the Doctor put his hands on my face, I could feel his. I wouldn't mind so much, but his heartbeat sounded unusual. It was either beating faster than it should, or I felt more than one heart. I didn't have much time to think about what may be the cause of his unusual heartbeat, as I suddenly felt... something go through me, as I suddenly saw something projected inside my mind. The very memory that the Doctor was trying to find.


	15. Chapter 15

I saw the explosion coming towards me. As it hit me, I expected that the next thing I'd see is black. But instead, there was only white. I couldn't understand it. It took a while for all the white to fade away, so I could see more clearly. What I saw then made even less sense. I seemed to have been inside a shrine of some kind, where there were shadows behind semi-transparent veils, and where my clothes were bleached out. These shadows behind the veils looked like hooded men, but I couldn't be too sure. I walked towards them, only to feel a hand fall on my shoulder. Startled, I turned to look. I saw an old man, who had a reassuring smile on his face.

"Fear not, you are safe here." he said.

"I'm sure that's what the aliens say after abducting people." I replied.

Whether he understood what I meant or not, he didn't show it.

"What's going on here?" I asked, "Where is this? And who are you?"

"We saved you from that basestar." he answered, "This is our ship. And we are the Seraphs."

"Seraphs?" I repeated, questioningly, "And what are you?"

"We are explorers." he replied, "We have been observing the Colonials for quite some time."

Colonials, I repeated inside my head. Apollo did explain that he and everyone else on the fleet were from the Colonies. I suppose Colonials is as a good a name as any.

"Observing them?" I asked.

"They are a wonderful race." he explained, "Capable of great feat. But they still have a long way to go. Rather than spoon-feeding them everything, we merely push them into the right direction every now and, and only intervene when truly necessary."

"Hang on!" I shouted, "These people were unknowingly destroying the universe. And you didn't..."

"We expected that by the time they reached, what you would call the "point of no return", they would already have reached Earth." he explained, "But if not, we would have intervened."

"And now you're... doing what exactly?" I asked.

"We observed how your Time Lord friend wanted to help the Colonials." he explained.

"Time Lord?" I thought that was a funny way to describe a time traveler.

He grinned: "His plan would have failed, as his vessel cannot bear the amount of energy needed."

"So you intervened." I concluded.

"Yes." he answered, "However, we did not intend to at first."

The look I had on my face must have been enough of an indication for him to know he should elaborate: "We knew that if we didn't intervene, the Colonials would make it to Earth without bringing any permanent damage to the universe, so it would not have mattered if we helped your Time Lord friend."

"So what changed?" I asked.

"You did." he replied.

"Me?" I couldn't understand it.

"This isn't your era or your world." he explained, "You should not die here because of a battle that isn't yours."

"Oh." I didn't know what else to say.

This reminded me of something: "Wait, there was another..."

"Baltar is fine." he said, "We transported him back to the Galactica."

"And what about me?" I asked.

"For the Colonials sake, it is best if they don't know about us." he explained, "If they knew that they were being helped by others, they would constantly rely on us, and not do anything by themselves. Which is why we will send you back too, but with your memory erased."

"Wait..." this didn't make sense, "... if you wanted to erase my memory, then..."

"A Time Lord has the ability to read minds." he explained, "He'll help you remember. It is only erased so you can honestly tell the Colonials you don't know anything."

"Plausible deniability." I understood that much.

"Correct." he replied.

I snickered: "You know, it's ironic. Back on my home world, there are people who need to believe there's some thing watching over them, even if there really isn't. You people on the other hand are the exact opposite: watching over people, but you don't want them to know about you."

He smiled, as though he understood what I meant, but didn't want to share his opinion about it. This was when everything turned white again, and the white somehow faded into black. And next thing I knew, I was inside the Tardis again.


	16. Chapter 16

The Doctor let go of my face. He seemed in awe of what he just saw: "You actually met the Seraphs?"

I rolled my eyes: "Why do people keep assuming I know what they're talking about? What's a Seraph?"

"They are only among the oldest races this universe has ever known!" the Doctor explained.

"Among the oldest?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it's been a very long debate as to who came first. My people, or them." the Doctor replied.

This time it wasn't just a hint. The Doctor explicitly admitted that he's not human. In addition to all the questions I have about the Seraphs, I just gained a few more about the Doctor. I suddenly didn't know what to talk about.

"Is there a problem?" the Doctor noticed my sudden silence.

I shook my head: "So... what are these Seraphs exactly? Are they ghosts?"

"That is one way to look at them." the Doctor answered, "They were human once, and like many of your race they were curious about the rest of the universe. They set out to explore, they colonized other planets, they even had a hand in your species evolution."

"They did?" I found that hard to believe, "Didn't Apollo say that his people colonized my planet?"

"No, he said he colonized Earth." the Doctor answered, "It was a planet they called Earth, but it's not your Earth."

"I see." I replied.

"I must say, last time I heard of somebody trying to force evolution, they ended up creating living blancmanges." the Doctor said.

"Right." I said, with an obvious hint of sarcasm, as I had no idea what a blancmange is.

"If you want to, I can take you to their original planet." the Doctor suggested, "So you can see for yourself."

Going to the very planet where these ghosts originated. Again, there was a battle in my mind. On the one hand I wanted to see the planet where these life-savers came from, on the other hand "a planet of ghosts" doesn't sound very inviting.

"Or..." the Doctor suggested, "... now that we're here, we might as well see Earth in the late 1970s."

"No." I shook my head, "Better stick to one subject at a time. Let's go see these Seraphs."

"Good." the Doctor had already started towards his console, "While we're there, maybe we can find a way to unlock your memories."

"Unlock my memories?" I wondered what he meant by that.

"They did a pretty good job at it too." the Doctor said, "They allowed me to see what they wanted me to see, but apparently they have told you something they don't want me to know."

"What are you saying?" I asked, "They tampered with my memory?"

"Precisely." the Doctor answered.

This made me more curious. What have they said that they want to hide from the Doctor? Or from anyone for that matter, including me? I couldn't hope that we'll find any answers on their planet, but if one can't hope, his life would be meaningless.

**THE END**


End file.
